A young starving Nate Diaz only trained jiu-jitsu because it was the only place he would find food

Nate Diaz’s situation has changed dramatically since he was a youngster growing up in Stockton, California.

With his last non-title welterweight fight against UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, Diaz earned his highest disclosed payday in his career earning what most champions get in their title fights. With less than two weeks notice filling in for lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos’ place against McGregor, Diaz derailed “The Notorious” train off the welterweight title track. Diaz submitted McGregor in the second round to claim the win over one of the UFC’s biggest stars to date.

Diaz earned $500,000 disclosed pay for his fight with McGregor and added $100,000 in bonuses for “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night.”

It has been a long and tested road for Nate, who previously told MMA Fighting that he only would go to jiu-jitsu classes with older brother Nick because older guys training at the gym would buy them burritos after training.

“That was actually the main reason I wanted to go train,” he said. “I didn’t have any money. At home we didn’t have s–t. I was starving all day. So if I went to train I’d get something to eat. Sometimes I’d be sitting at home and it was like, well, if I go train with Nick I’ll get something to eat afterwards. If I don’t I’ll just sit here and be hungry. …I was going for burritos and dinner, and hey, I wanted dinner every day. Before I knew it I was a blue belt.”

Like many say, the Diaz brothers were born to be fighters and now it looks to all be paying off.